Shoe-form.



M. B. REACH.

' SHOE FORM.

APPLICATION FILED 00129, 1908.

Patented July 6, 1909.

UNITED sTArns PATENT OFFICE.

MILTON B. REACH, or SPRINGFIELD,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY manor AND nc'sNn ASSIGNMENTS, o a. an. SPECIALTY coM-rA'NY; A; CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

SHOE-FORM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1909.

Application filed October 2t), 1908. Serial No. 460,078.

To all whom it may concern: r

Be it known that I, MILTON'B. RnAcH, citizen of t he United States, residing at Springfield, lvlassachusetts, have invented certain new. and useful Improvements in Shoellormaof which the following is a speci-v -iication.

It is the object of my invention to provide a form for restoring the shape of boots or shoes byinserting the same therein, so as to exert pressure on the interior parts for reshaping the shoe, iny construction being devised for the purpose of providing a simple, inexpensive and durable form which may be readily applied and whichwill be effective in use.

In carrying out indention, I aim. to construct the shoe form of one piece of sheet metal, which is formed. to the desiredlshape, so that all of the interior parts of the shoe may be reshaped where this is necessary, that is. to say, the necessary parts of the upper and the necessary parts of the sole portion of the shoe will be subjected to the reshaping effect by the use of my improved form. So far as I am aware, I am the first to provide a shoe-form of one piocoof metal iaving the uppcnarched portion to bear upon the upper of the shoe, and having a sole portion to bear upon practically the entire sole of the shoe, so that the upper and the sole will be reshaped throughout their extent.

The invention consists in the features hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved shoe form; Fig. 2 is a plan'view, Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view; Fig. 4 is a detail view of amodification.

As will be seen from an inspectionof these drawings, the general form of the tree or stretcher is substantially that of the interior of an ordinary shape of shoe, it having the upper arched portion 1 to bear upon the upper of the shoe, and the sole portion 2. 'The main body or upper portion of the form is provided with inwardly extending portions 3 at the rear, those portions being connected together in any suitable way, as by a rivet 1. These portions form the lower or rear arched part of the tree, and they are slightly inclined to conform substantially to the arched portion of the sole The sole portion of my improved shoe foris provided by extensions 5 vi realch from each edge of the sole portion inwardly to thecenter, being sepa rated slightlyatthe' center by the crevice 6. Thesesole portions extend practically over the entire sole of'the form, and they are made up of integral extensions of the main body of" so the metal composing the form. They are: rounded at their rear ends, and are separated lrom the rear arched portion by a crescentshaped opening 7. At the front or toe portion at opening 8 is provided so as to form an outlet or space for the metal in the process of' shaping the sheet metal of which the form is composed. Without this opening at the'toe the sheet metal would crimp or buckle up at this point during the shaping operation, and the'same is true at the point where the cres cent shaped opening is formed should it be attempted to provide a sole portion integral with the body portion without forming an opening at this'point.

' As shown in Fig. ,4, the front outlet opening, instead '01"; being formed as above described, the shoe form maybe so constructed as tohaveithis opening extend partly into the upper portion and partly into the solo portion, it being located at the extreme point of the toe. f

In order to force the form into its place and'hold it to the desired position, Iprovide a lever arrangement connected with the rear portion of the form and having aheel piece 8 secured toits rear end adapted to bear uponthe counter of the. shoe. This lever device comprises a member 9 pivotally secured to cars 10 connected with a cross bar 11 extending across the rear portion of the form and within the same, its end being riveted at 12 to the side of the form. This lever member fits between the ears, and it is provided with a series of openings 14 which join each other making, in effect, a slot having rounded" serrations. These openings or serrations are adapted to be engaged by aispring holding pin 15 having an enlarged portion passing through one of the ears and into the desired opening le of the lever, and having a reduced portion or stem 16 passing through the other car terminating in a head 17 be- I tween which and the side of the ears spring:

18 is interposed. y this construction it is simply necessary to press the spring pin laterally so as to withdraw the large portion thereof from the opening 14,. and then by slipping thelever member along over the )in -to the desired point, the spring pin, w on 1eleased,will engage another one of the openings 14. and hold the lever pivotally to the form. The lever or arm 9 is pivotally connected at its rear portion to a second arm 19.

Diiierent degrees of stretching effect maybe secured for diilercnt sizes of shoes by adjusting the toggle arm 9 in relation to the point of connection thereof with the form by the means described above, consisting of the spring pin 15 and the serrated slot 14. The lever member 9 has a finger piece 9 by which the levers may be forced down and thus put under strain in forcing the form into the shoe. This finger piece overlies the upper edge of the lever member 19-, but is high enough to allow the levers to be forced down slightly below the plane in which they coincide with each other, the finger piece then acting as a stop and the parts thus being locked together under the strain to which they are subjected. The toe portion has a hole in the upper at 10 to facilitate its proper holding in the dies. In order to secure the stretching efiect the lever arms 9 and 19 are pressed down to strain the parts, the heel portion 8. being thus seated against the counter of the shoe while the toe portion is forced forward hard into place.

In order that the a pliance may be packed Within a comparative y small compass, Imay extend the slot in the lever or arm 9,,as at 9", this portion of the slot however being plain, and by pressing the spring pin 15 aside the arm 9 may he slid forward within the toe portion to the required extent to materially reduce the length of the apparatus. The extended slot in the lever 9 is of a width equal to the smallest diameter of the spring pin.

I claim as my invention:

1. A shoe form comprising a sheet metal body portion having integral sole portions with an opening at the toe between the body portion and the soleportions, substantially as described.

2. A shoe l'orm comprising a sheet metal bor y portion having the two sole portions integral therewitl i extending over substantially the whole sole and separated fromeach other by a longitudinal crevice leaving the adjacent edges free, said sole portions bein separated from the body portion at the toe by an opening extending from the edge of the sole portions to the edge of the body portion, substantiallyas described.

3, A shoe l'orni consisting of a sheet metal body portion having a'sole portion integral therewith, and separated at the toe therefrom by an opening-said body portion having a lower arched portion, the said sole portion being separated by an opening from the lower arched portion, substantially as described.

4. A shoe form consisting of a sheet metal body portion having the two sole portions and having extensions united together and forming a lower-arched portion, the sole portions being separated from each other longitudinally and separated both from the body portion at the toe and from the lower arched portion, substantially as described.

5. A shoe form comprising a sheet metal body portion of one piece having integral sole portions with an opening at the toe extending partly into the sole portion and partly into the upper portion, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I, affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MILTON B. REACH. Witnesses WM. T. ALDRICH, MAY J AMESON. 

